Reeah
Reeah was a giant snake that lived within the City of the Rats and the guardian of the Opal. History Reeah arrived in Hira centuries ago. Small in size, it would have been slain easily if it had not been found by the Shadow Lord's servants, who were posing as rat catchers in order to breed a rat plague through the city. The Opal Dragons sensed an evil presence within the city, possibly referring to Reeah or the Gray Tide. Hopian told Doran that he intended to destroy the evil when the city was inevitably abandoned, but the dragon was convinced into hiding before he could do so. The rat population in Hira eventually grew out of control, forcing the people of Hira to abandon to their city, eventually founding Noradz under the leadership of the rat catchers. With the city abandoned, Reeah claimed the city for itself. The Shadow Lord chose the City of the Rats as the hiding place for the great Opal, allowing Reeah to guard it. ''City of the Rats'' Reeah psychically compelled Lief to come to its resting place in the city's former meeting hall when he, Barda, and Jasmine entered the City of the Rats in search of the opal. Lief, knowing that Reeah’s attention was fixed on him and the Belt of Deltora, distracted the proud snake with questions and idle praise while Jasmine and Barda snuck around it, preparing to attack. Reeah revealed that the Ra-Kacharz were servants of the Shadow Lord and that they were the cause of the plague that ruined Hira: the rats were bred in great numbers to feed Reeah's ever-growing appetite. Growing bored with talk, Reeah attacked Lief, knocking his sword high into the air, as well as knocked Barda unconscious with its tail. Lief, in desperation, attempted to throw his jar of Fire Beads into Reeah's mouth. The jar missed its mark, sparking an enormous fire, and Reeah snatched Lief in its jaws and raised him high in the air. Jasmine, having climbed into the rafters of the hall, caught Lief's sword and sliced Reeah's throat to save Lief – though Lief was nearly killed by the fall from Reeah's great height. Reeah's dead body was devoured by the rats in its city, while the fire that Lief had started ravaged the abandoned city. ''Shadowgate'' Lief realised that there were snakes in Kirsten's palace when Jasmine commented that the place smelled like the City of the Rats. Reeah was mentioned specifically when Lief fell into the castle's snake pit. The young king remembered that Reeah was repelled by the Belt of Deltora, as were the numerous, weaker snakes that surrounded Lief in the pit. Anatomy Reeah was an enormous snake with a body as wide as a tree trunk and flat, cold eyes. Its size was so great that it could fill the entire floor space of Hira's meeting hall while coiled. It had green, shining scales. Reeah wore a golden crown on its head with the opal set in the crown's center. When Reeah first came to Hira, it was the size of a worm and could have easily have been stomped to death, but eventually grew to a monstrous size, able to swallow a man whole. In the anime, Reeah had three heads and considerably darker scales. He also looked more like a hydra as opposed to a snake. Personality Reeah was an extremely vain and proud creature. It repeatedly referred to itself as "all powerful" and "the One". It considered itself to be the greatest of the Shadow Lord's servants and looked down on humans. Reeah was easily flattered and did not shy from the opportunity to boast about its own magnificence. The Shadow Lord was the only being that Reeah seemed to have any respect for and acknowledged that the Shadow Lord gave it its "kingdom". Abilities Reeah's immense size gave it equally immense strength, able to knock Barda unconscious with one swing of its tail. Despite its size, Reeah was also very quick and its fangs were poisonous. It claimed that it could put out the roaring fire that Lief started with a single gust of breath. While in possession of the opal, Reeah was able to see briefly into the future. It was able to read and control Lief's mind to a degree, though its mind control could be counteracted by the Topaz. It could also speak to Lief telepathically, though it never displayed these abilities on any other character. Reeah was apparently repelled slightly by the Ruby. Anime In the anime, Reeah was a hydra with three heads and six segment mouths. The battle is much different than in the books. He actually swallows Lief very early in the fight, but spits him back when Jasmine attacks with her knife. When Lief knocks the crown off his head, Reeah begins to thrash and flail wildly—similar to a seizure. This is what nearly kills Lief, rather than the fall from the book, as well as destroys the City of the Rats instead of the fire beads. It is said he survives the battle, but he is never seen again. Trivia *Reeah was the only gem guardian that actually used the power of its gem, using the opal to determine Lief's name. *Of all of the dangers that Lief faced, Reeah came the closest to killing the young king, albeit inadvertently, due to its immense height. Lief was only saved by the nectar from the Lilies of Life. *Reeah is never called by gendered pronouns. In the books it is always referred to as "it." *In the anime, Reeah seems to survive, though it is never seen again. Category:Monsters Category:Gem Guardians Category:Characters Category:Antagonists Category:Deceased Category:Fauna Category:Minor characters Category:Servants of the Shadow Lord Category:Magic users